After tedious delays due to weapon malfunctioning, I've finally gotten the review up on some awesome new Madbull AEG upgrade parts. First we will be looking at the Ultimate V2 Spring Guide.
First Look
I received this part directly through Madbull for this review. As you can see it comes in a clear plastic bag and is very straightforward. This spring guide is easily recognizable by its pinkish color. Now let's get a better look at the product itself.
There it is, a pinkish ball bearing spring guide constructed out of CNC machined anodized aluminum making it lightweight yet far more sturdy than stock plastic parts. The guide shaft is actually than thinner than usual, allowing it to accommodate any type of AEG spring and making it easier for the spring and piston to compress.
Here it is at another angle. The shaft and top plate are made out of a single piece of aluminum, increasing rigidity and allowing for full decompression. At the top are ball bearings, allowing the spring to spin freely.
Here is a shot of the top plate with ball bearings, which spins on its own very easily with little friction. Now lets compare it to the part it will be replacing, an ICS plastic spring guide.
As you can see the ICS spring guide has no bearings, it's plastic and the shaft may be a tiny bit thicker. Plastic spring guides are not desirable for the long term especially with high FPS setups.
Installation
Now we'll move onto installing the Madbull Ultimate V2 spring guide into an AEG. The test setup is the following.
- ICS M4A1 R.A.S. Full Metal AEG
- High Current T Plugs (knockoff Deans)
- 25A automotive fuse
- Extreme-fire SW-S MOSFET
- SHS high speed motor with gold motor connectors
- SHS 16:1 gearset
- Stock 6mm alloy bushings
- Element V2 switch assembly w/ silver plated wire (I believe 18AWG teflon wire)
- Stock ICS spring guide and Madbull Ultimate V2 spring guide
- Stock spring (roughly an M100)
- Stock ICS polycarbonate piston and non-ported piston head
- Stock cylinder/cylinder head assembly and air nozzle
- Stock bucking & inner barrel
Installation is quite simple. First I need to access the upper mechbox shell of the weapon (doesn't apply to normal AEGs with a single piece gearbox).
Now I will remove all of the screws (Phillips screws except for the back one which is a hex screw) and open the mechbox. Once open, I simply remove the piston assembly with the spring attached and swap out spring guides. Please refer to mechbox.com or similar videos for mechbox disassembly, if you're not familiar with it.
After this is done I must compress the spring and re-assemble the mechbox.
After I assembled the mechbox and the weapon, I moved onto testing.
Testing
Now obviously a durability test is out of the question - no way I can destroy even a plastic spring guide with a ~350 FPS gun. What I did test was FPS consistency with my Palco Sports Swiss Arms chronograph, and the results are as follows after firing ten shots with each spring guide.
Stock ICS Plastic Spring Guide: High 354 FPS, Low 341 FPS, Average 347.5 FPS
Madbull Ultimate Spring Guide Version 2: High 353 FPS, Low 344 FPS, Average 348.5 FPS
As you can see the result of the Madbull bearing spring guide is slightly improved FPS consistency. Previous deviation was 13 FPS but now it is 9 FPS. With a metal spring guide I can also safely increase the FPS of my gun, which I plan to do in the future. Plus with a bearing spring guide installed the spring will have less stress, thus improving its lifespan. A metal bearing spring guide is a necessity for anyone looking to upgrade their AEG especially if they are making a high powered long range weapon, and the Madbull Ultimate V2 Spring Guide certainly does what it's supposed to do.
Conclusion
The Madbull Ultimate V2 Spring Guide has earned the following scores.
- Build Quality: Being made with a single piece anodized CNC machined aluminum shaft and top plate, and completed by a set of ball bearings, you can't exactly find any flaws in the build quality. Therefore the Madbull Ultimate V2 spring guide receives a 5/5
- Performance: The Madbull Ultimate V2 spring guide improved FPS consistency and it will reduce tension on the spring, doing exactly what a bearing spring guide is supposed to do. 5/5
- Value: Looking at pricing, I see the Madbull Ultimate V2 spring guide listed at about $20. This is not as expensive, but you can find other metal bearing spring guides for a lower cost such as ARS, Super Shooter, SHS and Modify to name a few. 4/5
- Overall: Averaging the above scores, the Madbull Ultimate V2 Spring Guide scores a 4.67/5
Pros
- Solid build quality with the shaft and top plate made out of a single piece of aluminum
- Ball bearings included, reducing tension on the spring
- May improve FPS consistency by a small margin
Cons
- Price is on the high side for metal bearing spring guides
